More color changing goldies...

This is a discussion on More color changing goldies... within the Freshwater Journals forums, part of the Aquarium Photography category; -->
Picture I just snapped quickly with my phone, I have to take some more pics of all my goldies soon. But this guy always ...

Picture I just snapped quickly with my phone, I have to take some more pics of all my goldies soon. But this guy always amazes me with his colors of his fins, and how his scales look. He used to be completely black when he was young!

Thank you for the comments, I'm sure he'd appreciate them! He does resemble a betta a little, huh? As I explained in a previous thread, I bought him as a baby black moor, completely black, with those nice big bulging eyes. As he grew I noticed his eyes began to flatten and now he was normal looking eyes. It boggles my mind how it happens, and I know it boggles Lupin's mind too. I'm hoping he chimes in soon because I would love to hear if he has any input on the matter.

His ventral fins are just so prominent, nearly 3 inches long. He's about 5 inches not including tail. I've had him 3 years, and I'm guessing when I received him he was probably about 6-7 months old, about an inch long. Does that seem accurate Lupin? I'm thinking he still has not reached full size, and will continue to turn a nice golden yellow over time.

The size when you buy a fish does not accurately indicate the age unless a breeder logs it but usually inch sized goldies are no more than 3-4 months. As far as full grown size, it seems down mostly to genetics aside from environmental conditions and food intake. Some goldfish never seem to grow after 1-2 years since they hatched. Others though can reach full adult size in less than 2 years.

Considering the black pigment is melanophore and very unstable at that, as they die away and without the UV rays to retain the melanophores, your goldfish will indeed shed it off and turn yellow over time. Lots of people misinterpet it as a sign of aging but it does not. The color changes depending on the environment. My oranda which used to be rich black keeps shedding off most of her black color and turning yellow. Actually, she's almost 80-85% yellow now.

I do wonder about the eyes. I regularly contribute in one goldfish forum and one member has one goldfish that was bred from black moors. Strangely, it never had bulging eyes at all making it seem the "black sheep" of its family. The only answer I can come up with this one since genetics is rarely discussed and it's not even my strongest point, is that the family bloodline of recent generations may not have been completely run down purely by black moors or any telescopes but by some other strains instead thus they were able to produce some babies that never inherited the prominent bulging eyes or the change in chromosomes that never enabled some to retain their bulging eye feature.

At the very least, he's one lucky guy. Black moors are very prone to blindness and fluid buildup around the eyes.